Great goaltending from sophomore Kieran Millan and a furious third-period comeback weren’t enough to overcome a dismal second period and questionable officiating last night when the Boston University men’s hockey team fell to No. 10 Boston College, 4-3, in the Beanpot championship game.
Millan (28 saves) made glove save after kick save after pad save throughout the night, but two unlucky bounces and two defensive breakdowns led to four straight BC goals that gave the Eagles (16-8-2) what proved to be an insurmountable three-goal lead.
“I was real pleased with our team tonight,” said BU coach Jack Parker. “I was pleased with our goaltending. I was pleased with our overall team defense. I was pleased with our penalty kill. … I really thought that every one of my guys kept working hard.”
The Terriers (11-12-3) carried a 1-0 lead into the first intermission thanks to a turnover by sophomore forward Barry Almeida that allowed BU junior defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk to walk into the slot and rifle a shot over junior John Muse’s (31 saves) right arm for his fourth goal of the season.
But it was all downhill in the second for BU. Freshman forward Steven Whitney tied the game at one just 1:01 into the middle frame when he collected a pass from sophomore forward Cam Atkinson and fired a shot that deflected off freshman defenseman Sean Escobedo’s stick and floated over Millan’s shoulder.
Escobedo was caught in the wrong place at the wrong time again 11:32 later. Millan stoned senior forward Matt Lombardi as he cut across the crease from left to right, but the puck came back to senior defenseman Carl Sneep at the point, and he ripped a slap shot that deflected off Escobedo’s leg and past Millan to give the Eagles the lead.
BC wasn’t done. With 4:12 remaining in the period, freshman forward Chris Kreider took a pass at center ice, stormed down the left wing, turned freshman defenseman Max Nicastro inside-out and beat Millan with a beautiful forehand-backhand finish.
“I thought it was a great play by a freshman forward and not such a good play by a freshman defenseman,” Parker said. “He had tons of speed. It was a terrific individual effort.”
The Eagles made it 4-1 4:22 into the third. Four Terriers were caught up ice after Shattenkirk pinched in search of his own rebound, leaving Escobedo to defend a BC 2-on-1. Escobedo took away the pass, but Almeida roofed a wrist shot to avenge his earlier giveaway.
BU bounced back, though. With 11 minutes remaining in the game, sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky started a shorthanded rush with a pass up to senior forward Zach Cohen. Cohen sent it back to Warsofsky with a nifty behind-the-back pass, and Warsofsky finished by lifting a backhander over Muse’s glove for his eighth goal of the season, his fourth shorthanded.
“I’ll be surprised if both of the highlight goals &-&- Warsofsky’s goal and Chris’ goal &-&- aren’t on ESPN’s “Top 10′ [Tuesday] morning,” said BC coach Jerry York. “Those are two take-you-out-of-your-seat type goals.”
Junior defenseman Colby Cohen, who was a gametime decision after re-aggravating his hip last week, pulled the Terriers within one with 2:46 to go. After a BC penalty, Parker pulled Millan to create a 6-on-4. Junior forward Nick Bonino picked off a pass and drove to the net from the right. His stuff attempt was stopped, but Cohen closed from the left side and buried the rebound for his team-leading 11th tally.
“We have a lot of confidence in each other,” said senior defenseman Eric Gryba. “There was no point where I felt we were hopeless or we had no chance to come back and win.”
Not helping BU at any point during its comeback were referees Tim Benedetto and John Gravallese. Of the Terriers’ seven penalties, three were calls that drew the ire of the Terrier faithful. Although Parker wouldn’t comment on the officiating itself, he did tell the media he had instructed his players “not to make any comments whatsoever about the refereeing.”
That didn’t stop Shattenkirk from admitting it got in the players’ heads, though.
“We kind of got caught up in what happened out there with some of the refereeing,” the Terrier captain said. “That’s our fault as players not to move on from that. It’s just a matter of controlling your emotions.”
In the first period, Colby Cohen was called for a slash after he sent junior forward Joe Whitney sprawling to the ice despite minimal contact.
In the second, freshman forward Alex Chiasson was called for interference after he simply collided with Whitney, knocking him to the ice in the process. When a 6-foot-4, 195-pound player collides with a 5-foot-6, 170-pound player, it’s tough to imagine a different outcome.
Finally, in the third, junior forward Joe Pereira was called for a crosscheck while he only had one hand on his stick. The signal for crosschecking involves the use of both hands.
“I think the guys were unbelievably upset with the way the game was refereed,” Parker said.
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